The Arlington County Board today approved a two-phase plan to redevelop a portion of Crystal Square, in the heart of Crystal City. The project will add 100,000 square feet of street-oriented retail businesses, including a new Alamo Drafthouse movie theater and a grocery store, to Crystal Drive, and upgrade an existing office building to “Class A” office space.

The JBGSmith project also will include a new two-story, stand-alone retail building, dubbed the “Corner Building,” at the northwest corner of Crystal Drive and 18th Street S. that will be built above a future eastern entrance to the Crystal City Metro Station, and will complement a planned public park.

“This project will enliven Crystal Drive with street-level retail. Where today, most of the retail is inward facing, these changes will bring more visual interest and energy to this increasingly dynamic neighborhood,” County Board Chair Katie Cristol said. “Today’s action also commits the developer to granting an easement for a public park. It is another step toward realizing the Crystal City Sector Plan’s vision of a Crystal City that is more vibrant, has a greater sense of place, and provides residents and the people who work there with more civic, cultural, community and recreational amenities.”

The Board voted unanimously to approve a rezoning and three site plan amendments for a portion of Crystal Square, a 15-acre mixed-use development that lies between 15th Street South, 18th Street South, Crystal Drive and US Route 1. Crystal Square’s 1.3 million square feet of office space and 155,000 square feet of retail space, most of it in the Crystal City Underground, and 387 apartment units, was completed in the late 1970s. The area is designated the “Central Business District” in the Crystal City Sector Plan.

Planned Crystal City theater.

To read the staff reports, scroll to Items No. 25 and 26 on the agenda for the Saturday, Oct. 20, 2018 Regular County Board Meeting.

Public park commitment

As part of the approval, owner and developer JBGSmith will dedicate a public park easement of no less than 43,900 square feet to the County along 18th Street South between Crystal Drive and South Bell Street. It is the largest open space easement in Crystal City since adoption of the 2010 Crystal City Sector Plan.

The first phase of development will add 84,000 square feet of retail space, including the planned grocery store and movie theater. The developer plans to begin building Phase I by the end of 2018. The three-story movie theater will be built above Crystal Drive ground floor retail. Visitors will be able to access the movie theater and the ground floor retail from the Metro entrance. The 15,000-foot grocery store will be built in the existing office building at 1550 Crystal Drive. The movie theater and the grocery store will be connected by a new one-story retail area along Crystal Drive that will replace an existing 1990s-era strip of one-story retail.

In the second phase of redevelopment, “Metro Market Square,” the existing, vacant office building at 1750/1770 Crystal Drive will be renovated and expanded, and the developer will make streetscape improvements recommended for the block by the Crystal City Sector Plan. It is in this phase that the developer will dedicate the easement for the future public park to the County. The County will be responsible for planning, building and maintaining the park. The renovations will include architectural and façade improvements, and will add 10,000 square feet to the building.

Planned Phase II office.

The Crystal City Metro Station elevators will be integrated into the planned two-story retail Corner Building. The Board approved a building envelope, specifying height and massing. The developer will submit the design for Site Plan Review Committee review and staff approval before obtaining a building permit.

Crystal City Sector Plan

The Crystal City Sector plan designates Crystal Square as part of Crystal City’s Central Business District. The sector plan was meant to respond to the Federal Base Realignment and Closure Act (BRAC) and post 9/11 security concerns, which led to an increase in Crystal City office vacancies as government agencies moved to more secure locations. The plan is meant to incent mixed-use redevelopment and add density, while enhancing the public realm and adding open space.

The plan envisioned whole-block redevelopments, but market conditions resulted in incremental redevelopment of individual sites instead. During their consideration of the Site Plan amendments, Board members expressed hope that the project will serve as a catalyst for more redevelopment in Crystal City.

Public engagement

The proposed redevelopment underwent a one-year public review process that included four Site Plan Review Committee meetings, four Long Range Planning committee meetings and public hearings before the Transportation and Planning commissions. County staff also conducted an online survey on the nature of the proposed open space and the proposed two-story retail building adjacent to it. The proposed open space also will be subjected to a detailed park planning process in the future, to be led by the Department of Parks and Recreation.

The Arlington County Board today approved a plan by developer NVR, Inc. to build a condominium building and townhouses, with underground parking, on parts of two North Ballston blocks.

“The redevelopment of this site will provide much-needed ownership housing in the heart of Ballston, including affordable units, within walking distance of Metro,” Arlington County Board Chair Katie Cristol said. “We heard from some in the neighborhood who have had strong differences of opinion about the development’s appropriateness, but the Board, in partnership with staff and the Planning and Transportation Commissions, believes that it is consistent with the long-held goals of the Ballston Sector Plan.”

Replacing church, former rectory

The new development will replace a church building and former rectory on the south block of the site, bounded by 11th Street North, North Vermont Street and North Utah Street, with a seven-story, 58-unit condominium and a row of 14 adjoining townhouses. An underground parking garage, with 100 spaces, will connect the condominium to the townhouses.

The condominium building will have a step back at the northern façade, to create a taper down to 11th Street North, and the building will be sculpted to address the transitions to neighboring properties.

Townhouses planned for north block.

A surface parking lot and tot lot on the site’s north block, bounded by 11th Street North and North Vermont Street, will be replaced with 12 townhouses.

Special planning study

County staff undertook a special planning study to evaluate the requested General Land Use Plan (GLUP) amendment for the site, the only site along 11th Street North in North Ballston to still be zoned “R-5,” One-Family and Restricted Two-Family Dwelling District. It is one of the last three sites to not yet redevelop in this area. The study, reviewed with the Long Range Planning Committee, concluded that the proposed amendment could be appropriate for a portion of the site under certain circumstances. The special GLUP study was completed in June 2017, learn more.

The Board voted 4 to 1, with Board Member John Vihstadt voting no, to adopt a General Land Use Plan Amendment, approve rezoning, and approve a site plan for the development. Vihstadt’s substitute motion to indefinitely defer the item failed on a 4-1 vote. For more information, visit the project webpage on the County website. To read the staff report, visit the County website. Scroll to Item No. 22 on the agenda for the Saturday, February 24, 2018 Regular County Board Meeting.

Affordable housing, other community benefits

The developer will provide four on-site units that will be contractually committed to remaining affordable in perpetuity, for the life of the project, under the County Zoning Ordinance’s affordable housing requirements. All four units will have two bedrooms; one will be fully accessible. The sale price for these units will be affordable to households at or below 80 percent of Area Median Income, and will be established in consultation with County staff.

The developer proposes achieving LEED Silver certification, under the County’s program to encourage green building practices. The developer also will install an in-building wireless First Responders Network and provide improvements to the streetscape and landscape, including landscaping improvements to a small area within the North Utah Street right of way, to mitigate the need for green space in the vicinity, and will maintain the landscaping in perpetuity.

Previous study and public engagement

The Site Plan Review Committee reviewed the site plan application at four meetings, conducted a walking tour of the site, and hosted a community open house. The plan was also reviewed by the Housing Commission, Transportation Commission and Planning Commission.

The Arlington County Board today approved Clarendon Regency, IV, LLC’s plan for a major renovation and expansion of a commercial-retail block in the heart of Clarendon, while preserving the A&R Engravers building and widening the Wilson Boulevard sidewalk at the Edgewood Street intersection.

The site, known as Market Common Phase 2, is bounded by Wilson Boulevard to the north, N. Edgewood Street to the east, Clarendon Boulevard to the south and N. Fillmore Street to the west.

“The transformation of an entire block in Clarendon’s core will make one of Arlington’s liveliest urban villages even more vibrant,” Arlington County Board Chair Katie Cristol said. “The plan calls for preserving an historic building, widening a portion of the Wilson Boulevard sidewalk and improving the streetscape. When it is finished, it will offer an attractive and inviting mix of offices, retail and public spaces.”

The Board voted 5 to 0 to approve a rezoning of the IOTA and A & R Engravers Building parcels from “C-2” to “C-O-1.5” and to amend the existing site plan for the adjacent office building and incorporate the IOTA and Engravers Building parcels into it. To read the Board report, including the specific provisions of the site plan amendment, visit the County website. Scroll to item No. 37 on the agenda for the Tuesday, January 30, 2018 Recessed County Board Meeting.

Building expansion with retail focus

Rendering of approved Market Common Phase II renovation.

Under the approved plan, the vacant office building formally known as the Education Center will be renovated and expanded across the IOTA and Engravers Building properties. A fourth floor with outdoor terraces will be added to the Education Center building, which will have retail space on the ground floor and basement levels, and office space on the upper floors.

A ground level arcade will be created along N. Edgewood Street for outdoor seating. The Engravers Building at 2836 Wilson Blvd., built in 1941 and designated an “Essential” commercial building resource in the County’s Historic Resources Inventory, will be almost completely preserved.

Along the south edge of Wilson Boulevard, the streetscape will be redesigned to widen the sidewalk significantly, from as little as 2.8 feet at its narrowest point now, to about 6.5 feet, by moving street trees to bump-outs in the parking lane.

The renovation and expansion will add 27,495 square feet to the site’s current 138,751 square feet of density. Staff found that the rezoning is supported by the County’s General Land Use Plan and the Clarendon Sector Plan, and that the site plan amendment is consistent with the Zoning Ordinance provisions.

Sustainable design

The applicant proposed to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold level certification under the Green Building Density Incentive Program. This program, administered by the County, is a point-based system for green building practices in the areas of site and stormwater protection, energy efficiency, resource efficient design, sustainable and durable building materials, indoor air quality, water efficiency, and waste reduction.

Public engagement

The project was reviewed by the Site Plan Review Committee at three meetings, with the participation of the Clarendon-Courthouse Civic Association, Lyon Village Citizens Association, Clarendon Park Homeowners Association and the Civic Federation. It also was reviewed by the Historic Affairs and Landmark Review Board, the Transportation Commission and the Planning Commission.

]]>Top 10 Stories of 2017https://newsroom.arlingtonva.us/release/top-10-stories-2017-arlington-county/
Thu, 04 Jan 2018 21:43:58 +0000https://newsroom.arlingtonva.us/?post_type=news_release&p=14479The past year in Arlington was an especially good year. From budget roundtables to launching the Joint Facilities Advisory Commission; from filling over 2,600 potholes to handling more than 83,000 emergency calls; from ribbon cuttings at renovated parks to a continued focus on transparent government; from welcoming businesses to leading the way in sustainability and environmental efforts. Indeed, 2017 was a good year in Arlington County, laying the foundation for great years to come.

But before looking ahead, we wanted to reflect back on the year that was, with the 10 most popular stories in the Arlington County Newsroom:

10. New Look for Rosslyn Sidewalks

The Rosslyn Streetscape Elements Plan, a partnership between the County and the Rosslyn Business Improvement District two years in the making and approved in June, is bringing a more unified, vibrantly urban look to Rosslyn’s public spaces. The BID installed benches, planters, bike racks, and more, — all with the same custom, laser-cut pattern emulating Rosslyn’s nighttime skyline. The rollout of these pieces will continue over in the coming months and years.

It all fits in with the County and community’s long-term planning effort to realize the vision in the Rosslyn Sector Plan: to reshape the second generation of redevelopment in Rosslyn’s downtown core into a more walkable, transit-oriented, lively and vibrant urban village.

9. Improving Safety for Key Clarendon Intersection

In October, the Board took a big step to increase pedestrian safety by giving the go-ahead on improvements at the intersection of Clarendon Boulevard and 15th Street North. The project is part of, and funded by, the County’s WalkArlington initiative to create a more walkable Rosslyn-Ballston (R-B) Corridor, will include new safety and streetscape improvements, ADA compliant sidewalks, benches and bike racks, while also improving the circulation of the Courthouse Plaza parking garage.

The Board approved a pair of contracts in September, one to improve our north-south trail connections, and the other to remove the elevated South Clark Street roadway in Crystal City. This extension of the Washington Boulevard Trail, phase two of the Washington Boulevard Trail project, will better connect the Columbia Pike area with Arlington Boulevard and the northern part of Arlington by creating a 10-foot wide asphalt trail along the western shoulder of Washington Boulevard.

7. New App Puts Arlington Public Library at Your Fingertips

The free app from Arlington County, released in April, puts the public library within reach of iPhone and Android users wherever you may be. The free app allows users to search the catalog, manage your accounts, book meeting rooms and access library information and operating hours. Download it today by searching “Arlington Public Library” in the Apple or Google Play store.

6. County Moves Forward on WRAPs

The Board took the first steps to realize a vision outlined in the 2015 Western Rosslyn Area Plan (WRAP) when in February it approved several use permits and site plans to deliver a new school, new fire station, transportation network improvements, parks and open space, affordable housing, retail and new residential space to the Western Rosslyn community by 2021.

5. County Board Approves New Elementary School at Thomas Jefferson Site

In April, the Board voted 5-0 to make way for a new elementary school at the Thomas Jefferson site (125 S. Old Glebe Road); Arlington Public Schools plans to open the new 752-seat elementary school in September 2019. The school is designed to use significantly less energy than comparable APS facilities, and will include a gym wall that opens to the outside to create an outdoor theater and play areas that will be open to the public outside of school hours.

4. Arlington Abuzz with Rescue of Thousands of Bees

When Arlington County acquired a former office building as part of the Nauck Town Square project, it didn’t realize it had also acquired an enormous honey bee network. Vacant since March, the building was set to be demolished, but when staff discovered the elaborate hives, they contacted David and Emily, a husband-and-wife team of beekeepers who happen to live in Nauck. On a hot Saturday in June, the couple spent six hours painstakingly removing the hive, keeping as much intact as possible to transport it to a local community garden at 10th and Barton streets.

3. Arlington United Against Racism and Bigotry

Following the tragedy that occurred in Charlottesville in August, the Arlington County Board issued a statement to “[condemn] the act of domestic terrorism … ” and confirm that “Arlington rejects the hateful speech and actions of the KKK, white supremacists, neo-Nazis and the alt-right movement.” It was also an opportunity to remind the community that “Arlington’s story is an inspiring one of racial and social progress, of moving forward and overcoming the deep wounds inflicted by slavery, the Civil War, Jim Crow and the legacy of segregation.”

2. Redesign Coming to Clarendon Circle

The redesign of Clarendon Circle – to make it more accessible and safe for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists traveling through the intersection of Wilson and Clarendon boulevards and Washington Boulevard – took important steps forward in February of 2017. Redesign of the circle, recommended and supported in both the Master Transportation Plan (MTP) and Clarendon Sector Plan, includes reducing intersection size, improving area lighting, adding on-street bike lanes and improving bike routes, and more.

1. Nestlé USA Chooses Arlington, Virginia as New U.S. Headquarters

In February of this year, we were thrilled to welcome Nestlé USA to our community as the world’s largest food company announced it would relocate its corporate headquarters from California to Rosslyn, creating over 700 jobs in the process. Nestlé has already started its move into 1812 North Moore Street in Rosslyn, the tallest building in the metropolitan D.C. area.

The Arlington County Board today unanimously elected Katie Cristol its 2018 Chair, and Christian Dorsey its Vice Chair. The vote came after the Board seated Erik Gutshall, elected in November. The Board acted during its annual Organizational Meeting.

In her remarks, Cristol highlighted the County’s growing need to create and protect housing options for middle class residents, particularly seniors and young families. “The middle class of government workers and civil rights activists and immigrants that built Arlington, and that Arlington built, is endangered as home prices continue to climb,” she said.

Arlington County Board Chair Katie Cristol

“Missing Middle” housing – offering a range of multi-unit or clustered housing types compatible in scale with single-family homes — offers Arlington the opportunity to “translate” its historic values of inclusion into its housing policy, Cristol said. “My goal – building on and with the ideas advanced by our new colleague, Erik Gutshall, and other community leaders – is to more substantively and specifically engage this ‘Missing Middle’ conversation in 2018, producing a few examples of what it might mean in Arlington,” she said.

Increasing childcare accessibility, affordability and quality

The newly elected Chair said she is looking forward to the January 25 public launching, at the Central Library, of a proposed multi-agency action plan aimed at increasing accessibility, affordability and quality of childcare in Arlington. The public kickoff will begin a process of the public, providers and neighbors analyzing the research-based action plan developed in 2017, Cristol said.

“As the action plan proceeds, I anticipate that some long-awaited actions will be before the Board soon,” she said, “such as re-examination of our local codes for alignment with the Commonwealth’s, potential zoning tools to increase the availability of affordable spaces for, and decrease barriers to entry of, childcare centers, and new partnerships to increase the supply of trained childcare workers.”

Working with region on dedicated funding for Metro

Metro, Cristol said, “is the backbone for our economy, our property values and our quality of life,” in Arlington. As chair of the legislative committees of the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission and Virginia Railway Express, Cristol said she will work with Virginia Governor Ralph Northam”s administration, Metro and outer jurisdictions to “present a common vision to the General Assembly as they deliberate on dedicated transit funding in the outgoing Governor’s biennial budget.” Every Arlington County Board Member, she said, “will play a role in advocating for the system’s future in the region, and in Richmond.”

Christian Dorsey calls for making Arlington more affordable

Newly elected Vice Chair Christian Dorsey called for the County to take concrete steps this year to provide more affordable housing. He urged a “rethinking of the requirements, conditions and incentives associated with committed affordable unit rehabilitation and new construction, while allowing sensible increases in density,” to stretch dollars from the County’s Affordable Housing Investment Fund. The County, he said, should also “be innovative in permitting and encouraging housing that is affordable by design and not via public subsidy.” A strong demand exists “for different housing sizes and types,” Dorsey said.

Consumer Protection Bureau

Arlington County Board Vice Chair Christian Dorsey

Citing the move toward deregulation by “the state and nation,” Dorsey said Arlington should organize a Consumer Protection Bureau “that consolidates our efforts in educating businesses and consumers about their rights and responsibilities, aggregating and investigating complaints about illegal and unfair practices and providing guidance to those who seek a redress of their complaints.”

The bureau, he said, could handle complaints about predatory towing, billing and service issues with cable and telecommunications companies, predatory lenders, identity theft, hired transport, rental housing or general contract enforcement. It could be created “by consolidating existing resources, currently spread across departments, and by creating an on-line portal that provides consumers with a way to easily connect with the resources available to them.”

Metro funding

Dorsey, who represents the County on both the Metro Board and the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board, said this year “is a pivotal year for the sustainability of the Metro system” that is “essential to what we are and indispensable to what we will be.” Arlington “cannot allow it to be degraded with insufficient funding, nor can we accept that our financial contributions continue while our governance role is eliminated,” he said.

In what she predicted “may well prove to be a very challenging and uncertain year,” Board Member Libby Garvey urged Arlingtonians to weigh-in on a draft guide on Civic Engagement, saying she will focus on helping the County develop a “code of conduct” for public discourse.

“I believe improving civic dialogue and general civility in our discussions is another challenge for us,” in 2018, Garvey said. “I’ve been hearing more and more, recently, about inconsiderate and unpleasant interactions in public meetings on County issues right here in Arlington…as we enter 2018 and all the challenges this year, we cannot afford to waste time and energy on ineffective conversations.”

Garvey applauded the County’s efforts to provide “smaller and more intimate settings for discussions to complement the traditional larger forums and work groups,” and said she plans to continue her series of book discussions as part of the effort.

The County will continue to work on improving customer service, Garvey said, and she hopes that it will complete a process for paying permits online this year.

John Vihstadt calls for cost/benefit analyses of new development

Board Member John Vihstadt called on the Board to focus on three key areas in 2018: managing growth; ensuring greater openness and transparency in County government and instilling a greater sense of fiscal discipline in how the County works.

Noting that the County’s population is expected to increase to 280,000 by 2040, Vihstadt called for “new partnerships with our public schools and with the private sector” to manage that growth. Every new development, he said, should require “cost/benefit fiscal impact analyses…including a study of the consequences for our schools, parks and tree canopy, infrastructure and more.” He called for leveraging “the new political dynamic in Richmond” to broaden the scope of community benefits “to find new ways to help offset the cost and stress of additional development on our surrounding neighborhoods.”

Vihstadt also called for County government to work with Arlington Public Schools on innovations in “the way we teach our kids,” by exploring ideas such as creating healthcare classrooms at Virginia Hospital Center and hospitality education at Crystal City hotels.

Warning of a tough budget year ahead for the County, Vihstadt said the Fiscal Year 2019 budget that the Board will adopt in April will require tradeoffs. “Cost and value must be a part of every conversation from the start,” he said. He also called on County Government to be more open and transparent in community processes and in data-sharing.”

Erik Gutshall: Our moral compass will guide us

Newly seated Board Member Erik Gutshall, noting that he has been “duly warned” that the Fiscal Year 2019 budget “will be rife with difficult choices constrained by a harsh revenue gap,” said it is easier to muster fiscal discipline “when guided by the moral compass of our core values.”

As the Board balances budget priorities this year, Gutshall said, he will be committed to excellent public education “for every single one of our children,” and on making sure Arlington “has housing for everyone and we remain steadfast in our resolve to implement the Affordable Housing Master Plan.” He expressed strong support for Chair Cristol’s initiative to create market-driven “Missing Middle” housing by “modernizing our old-fashioned Zoning Ordinance.”

A commitment to honest dialogue in civic engagement

As the Board steers the community’s direction in the coming year, Gutshall said, “I can only add to the chorus a resounding commitment to continual improvement of the manner, means and methods by which our County government seeks the consent of the governed.”

With the County needing to accomplish so much with limited resources of time and money, Gutshall said, he hopes to foster “civic engagement that delivers quality decisions in a predictable and timely manner.” He pledged to “hold myself, this Board, the Manager and his staff and every stakeholder who lobbies me accountable to the agreed upon framework,” of the County’s newly released draft Public Engagement Guide for Capital Projects. The draft framework identifies “up front for every process the expected level of citizen engagement,” and its guiding principles are designed to foster honest dialogue. “I will be a stickler for adherence,” to those principles, Gutshall said. “To be blunt, I will not tolerate a ‘play to win’ mentality from any side.”

The guidelines are not requirements or expectations. They update and standardize the practice of recent years for new developments in the Rosslyn-Ballston and Route 1 corridors to be approved with less parking than in the past. Any parking reduction will only be supported if the staff and Board validate that the existing transportation system can handle the reduction or, if necessary, that additional transportation investments or incentives are provided for a particular project.

“These guidelines reflect the fact that the increase in transportation options in our Metro corridors means that some new developments will require less parking,” Arlington County Board Chair Jay Fisette said. “The guidelines will only apply in the Metro corridors, and only to new projects approved by special exception. They will have no impact at all on existing buildings. And it remains up to the Board, to approve the final parking ratio for each proposed project, based on the site-specific circumstances and the project’s characteristics.”

The Board voted unanimously to approve the guidelines and related recommendations.

Basis for guidelines

The guidelines are based on the expansion of bus service, biking and walking infrastructure, bike share, car share and other transportation options in the County’s Metro Corridors; the evidence of lower rates of parking demand in site-plan multi-family buildings; the tendency for abundant parking to attract households with more vehicles, and the fact that recently, when appropriate, site plans have been approved with parking ratios at 0.8 space per unit and below.

Key elements of the guidelines include:

minimum parking ratios for market-rate units ranging from 0.2 to 0.6 spaces per unit, depending on distance from the nearest Metro station entrance;

minimum parking ratios for 60 percent of Area Median Income (AMI) and 50 percent of AMI committed affordable units set at 70 percent and 50 percent of the market-rate minimums respectively;

reductions of up to 50 percent of the minimum parking ratios in exchange for elements such as transit infrastructure, expanded bike parking, bike share, and/or car-share amenities on site, in addition to those already required in baseline Transportation Demand Management (TDM) requirements;

a separate visitor parking recommendation of 0.05 spaces per unit for the first 200 units, which was added in response to concerns about spillover parking;

allowances for shared parking between different land uses in mixed-use projects;

allowances for meeting parking minimums through the dedication of spaces at existing garages located within 800 feet of the new building and in the Metro corridors;

mitigation requirements for provision of excess parking; and

relief from minimum parking requirements for constrained sites.

Public engagement

Staff worked with a County Manager-appointed Residential Parking Working Group, which included representatives of the County’s Planning, Transportation, Housing, Economic Development, Environment and Energy Conservation Commissions as well as the Arlington Chamber of Commerce, Civic Federation, and NAIOP (Commercial Real Estate Development Association) to develop the guidelines. Auto ownership and parking use data in the Metro corridors and parking practices of neighboring jurisdictions were reviewed. The County conducted extensive outreach to residents, developers, businesses and other stakeholders.

The working group held 11 public meetings, beginning in September 2016. Staff created a project web site and an e-mail listserv with more than 500 subscribers; held two open houses and an on-line survey, and presented to civic groups, among other outreach efforts. The County Board held a public hearing in October on the guidelines, and incorporated feedback from the public into the guidelines approved today by the Board following a second public hearing.

To read the staff report, scroll down to Item No. 47 on the agenda for the Saturday, Nov. 18, 2017 Regular County Board Meeting.

Board adopts study that finds broader mix of uses, increased building height and density could be appropriate

Concept plan provides guiding parameters for circulation, public space, land use, building height and form

The Arlington County Board today adopted a General Land Use Plan Study and Concept Plan that will serve as a long-range planning guide for potential redevelopment of three sites northwest of the Washington Boulevard and Kirkwood Road intersection as well as the balance of commercial properties in the area fronting on Washington Boulevard. This area had not been included in the study when the Virginia Square Sector Plan was developed in 2002.

The three sites, currently home to the YMCA Arlington campus, an American Legion Building, and an assemblage of properties controlled by Eleventh Street Development, LLC, lie outside the northern edge of Virginia Square. In 2016, the study was spurred by individual requests to change the GLUP designation for all three sites.

The study resulted in a set of planning concepts and recommendations to guide coordinated redevelopment across the entire block, and identifies and outlines guiding principles and other desirable elements that should be incorporated into any future site plan application for redevelopment that may be proposed on the block.

“The key questions this study answered were: are potential increases in development intensity on these sites appropriate to advance our development and growth policies, and would those increases encourage the area’s transition into a more pedestrian-oriented, context-sensitive place,” Arlington County Board Chair Jay Fisette said. “After significant analysis and discussion, the answer to both questions is yes.”

The Board voted unanimously to adopt the study and concept plan, concurrent with several associated specific GLUP and Master Transportation Plan (MTP) amendments. The Board also authorized advertisement of future public hearings by the Planning Commission and the County Board for the GLUP amendments requested for each of the three sites to date that will be held in conjunction with the review of future site plans associated with each site.

When held, the future public hearings will consider the following GLUP amendments:

Re-designate the Eleventh Street Development site from “Service Commercial” to “Medium” Office-Apartment-Hotel;

Re-designate the American Legion site from “Service Commercial” and “Semi-Public” to “Medium” Office-Apartment-Hotel; and

Re-designate the YMCA site amendment from “Semi-Public” to “Low” Office-Apartment-Hotel.”

Although these GLUP designations typically correspond to zoning districts permitting significantly greater building height, the adopted plan’s recommendations will set the policy that limits building heights up to six and seven stories closest to Washington Boulevard, stepping down to four stories approaching the neighborhood and three stories approaching the neighborhood west of N. Lynnbrook Drive.

To read the staff report and related documents, scroll down to Item No. 44 on the agenda for the November 18, 2017 Regular County Board Meeting. The draft study is available on the County website.read the staff report and related document

Special GLUP Study

The County’s GLUP is the primary policy guide for future development in Arlington. It establishes the overall character, extent and location of various land uses. In 2008, the County Board adopted a policy calling for a community review process where a requested land use change is lacking or inconsistent with guidance set forth in an adopted plan. The policy’s goal is to ensure that unanticipated GLUP amendment requests are thoroughly reviewed to evaluate their appropriateness before – and independent of – the review of a specifically defined site plan application.

The three sites requesting changes that led to the Special GLUP study were not specifically addressed by the 2002 Virginia Square Sector Plan, because they lie just outside the Virginia Square Metro Station Area.

Public Process

The County’s Long Range Planning Committee (LRPC), which was expanded to include other stakeholders and representatives beyond just the Planning Commission and civic association within which the sites are located, worked with staff to address the study in five meetings between October 2016 and July 2017. Several of the meetings included opportunities for public comment.Staff also hosted a community walking tour and open house on May 1, 2017, which allowed participants to get a better sense of existing conditions and potential spatial relationships of features across the study area and its surroundings, and to provide input that would influence the direction of additional modeling.

Staff held a second open house on November 1, 2017, to inform the community of the study and plan’s recommendations, and to address related questions. The County Board also took public testimony at its October 21, 2017, meeting, when it considered a Request to Advertise public hearings on its adoption of the Washington Boulevard and Kirkwood Road Special GLUP Study “Plus” and Concept Plan. Several County advisory commissions also reviewed the study.

]]>Arlington County Office Building to be Named After Ellen M. Bozmanhttps://newsroom.arlingtonva.us/release/arlington-county-office-building-to-be-named-after-ellen-m-bozman/
Sat, 18 Nov 2017 15:09:43 +0000https://newsroom.arlingtonva.us/?post_type=news_release&p=14057

2100 Clarendon Blvd. building to be named for former Board Chair, civic leader

Bozman elected six times, served as chair six times

Visionary leader led County through transformative years

The Arlington County Board today voted unanimously to name the County Office Building at 2100 Clarendon Boulevard for Ellen M. Bozman, the six-time Board Chair who served on the Board through some of Arlington’s most transformative years, and who died in 2009.

“Ellen Bozman set the bar high for civic service and leadership,” Arlington County Board Chair Jay Fisette said. “It is entirely fitting that the County offices be named for Ellen — a visionary who helped guide Arlington’s growth for decades, played a key role in developing Metro here, and who maintained the highest ethical standards throughout her decades of service to this community that she loved. Ellen believed in open, inclusive, competent government as a powerful agent of progress.”

The Board voted unanimously to name the 2100 Clarendon Building for Bozman. To read the staff report, scroll down to Item No. 43 on the agenda for the Saturday, Nov. 18, 2017 Regular County Board Meeting.

In August, 2017, County Board Chair Fisette received a petition signed by 62 prominent Arlington residents asking that the Board name the County Office Building for Bozman. The County’s Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board unanimously approved the naming on September 20, 2017.

About Ellen M. Bozman

Ellen M. Bozman was first elected to the Arlington County Board in 1973, and served for 24 years. Her civic life began long before then, when she moved to the area after being selected by the National Institute of Public Affairs to participate in its internship program.

As a member of the League of Conservation Voters in the mid-1950s, Bozman helped defeat massive resistance to racial desegregation in Virginia. She chaired a local fundraising organization, the Arlington Health and Welfare Council from 1967-1969, where she led the study of the growing challenges confronting families with children where both parents were working. She championed Arlington’s extended day program for schools.

On the Planning Commission, and later, on the County Board, Bozman helped build the long-range framework for redevelopment of Arlington’s Metro corridors. She also represented the County on the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority and chaired the Arlington Committee of 100. She was president of the Church Council of Rock Spring United Church of Christ.

During her service on the County Board, Bozman planned for nursing homes and started day-care programs for the frail elderly. She championed sound fiscal management; worked to improve transit services; sought to preserve affordable housing, promoted the performing arts and farmers markets and created Neighborhood Day.

Bozman was a co-founder of the Alliance for Housing Solutions, and a member of its Board of Directors. The Alliance later named an award for her, given annually to individuals or organizations who have significantly advanced efforts to increase the supply of and/or to improve the quality of affordable housing in Arlington through leadership, innovation, and effectiveness over time.

Bozman oversaw high-quality redevelopment in Arlington, in accordance with adopted plans. She served on the Board of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments for 14 years, and chaired that Board twice. She also served on other regional and state bodies.

Honors

When she retired from the County Board in 1997, the Virginia General Assembly passed a resolution commending Bozman for “one of the most distinguished public service careers in Arlington history.” Bozman received the Elizabeth and David Scull Public Service Award from the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments in 1983. In 1997, the Virginia Association of Counties honored her with the Jefferson Cup. Washingtonian magazine named her “Washingtonian of the Year” in 1986.

From black box theaters to a costume shop, Arlington Cultural Affairs continues to provide cultural programming and facilities to the County

Much like the County itself, Arlington’s arts scene is constantly evolving. Likewise, over the last decade, there has been a strategic rethinking in how the County delivers cultural programming and facilities, with a focus on “low cost-high impact” investments, a hallmark of Arlington’s support for the arts.

The County’s grants program, for example, which is managed by Arlington Cultural Affairs Division and the Arlington Commission on the Arts, offered more than $1.1 million in support to 29 arts organizations in fiscal year 2016. This includes the equivalent of $870,000 in space and services alone, which supports the existing black box venue at Theatre on the Run, an 80-seat theater in Shirlington with two dance studios, rehearsal rooms and a small art gallery. In FY2016, there were seven organizations that requested the use of one, or both, of our two black box theaters (Theatre on the Run and Gunston Theatre Two, a 125-seat black box space) — all of their performance requests were met, with additional capacity available.

Set for The Arlington Players’ “Man of La Mancha” from Fall 2016. Designed by Jared Davis, manager of the County-run Arlington Scenery Studio, where it was also constructed by TAP volunteers.

This renewed focus means the County is moving away from expensive investments in new facilities, in favor of using existing community assets — libraries, community centers, parks, plazas and commercial spaces — to provide nimble and responsive programming. Some examples:

Continuing work with Arlington Public Schools (APS) to expand capacity in school theaters. For example, by partnering with APS, Arlington Cultural Affairs offers theater and dance ensembles access to rehearsal and performance spaces in venues such as Gunston Theatre One and Theatre Two, Lubber Run Amphitheater and Thomas Jefferson Community Theatre.

Providing the Lee Arts Center, which features gallery and well-equipped studio space, for resident artists working in ceramics and printmaking.

Providing performance groups with access to a fully-equipped Scene Shop, offering the ability to build their sets in a safe, monitored environment — along with the Costume Lab, which has an inventory of more than 20,000 costumes.

With this in mind, County Manager Mark Schwartz recently shared the County’s intent to move away from a project that would have seen a black box theater as part of redevelopment in Virginia Square. In the nearly six years since this project was approved, the timing of construction and delivery remains unknown, and ultimately doesn’t help the County reach its goal: bring the arts programming into the broader community and serve a more diverse audience.

Arlington County continues work with the Virginia Square community to evaluate and brainstorm other options. Arlington’s cultural scene remains one of the area’s most vibrant, and the County is committed to continued creativity and innovation in supporting the arts.

“These are the kinds of projects that make Arlington such a great place to walk,” said Arlington County Board Chair Jay Fisette. “This intersection is going to function better for all who use it – and look a lot better – as a result of the improvements the Board approved today.”

The Board voted unanimously to approve the contract.

Clarendon Boulevard is a key arterial street in the R-B corridor, and the intersection of 15th Street is central to the busy Courthouse Metro Station. The intersection is currently designed primarily to funnel automobiles onto 15th Street North, which often results in conflicts between pedestrians, vehicles and transit users.

Concept plan for intersection improvements.

Safer for all travelers

New safety and streetscape improvements, which will include new concrete curb and gutter, ADA compliant sidewalks, storm structures and streetscape amenities, such as benches and bike racks, will make this area safer for all travelers. The project also will improve the circulation of the Courthouse Plaza parking garage and provide better access to the surrounding street network by extending the parking garage’s entrance to Clarendon Boulevard. The bus stop waiting area along 15th Street North will be expanded and the existing bus stop at Clarendon Boulevard/N. Wayne Street will be relocated to the far right of the intersection to facilitate safer pedestrian crossing along this street segment.

The project is compatible with the long-term Courthouse Square Plan and will fulfill the County Board’s adopted Stormwater Management Ordinance by planting shrubs, ornamental grasses and street trees to reduce impervious asphalt pavement. The ordinance was adopted in response to updated Commonwealth of Virginia regulations and codifies the County’s commitment to protecting local water quality and improving the health of the Chesapeake Bay.

Public engagement

Project design plans have been shared with surrounding stakeholders and civic associations. For more information, visit the County website. Scroll down to Item No. 23 on the Agenda for the October 21, 2017 Regular County Board Meeting.